Hey everyone. This post is directed to members from New Jersey and Pennsylvania who might be able to clear up some of this. I have taken trips to NJ and PA over the past few months and I have made some interesting findings regarding MPGs. With NY state gasoline formulas, I get between 10-12 mpg in town or in a city and between 16-19mpg on the highway at 55-60mph and it drops dramatically after that. This weekend I took a trip to the southwestern part of NY (near Elmira) and since Rt. 17 dips into PA, I exited the highway to get cheaper gas in PA. At the time, the average for 95% highway driving was around 17.6mpg. Since I had a half tank at the time, as I continued the trip, the computer said I was getting around 19.3mpg driving the exact same way (actually with more hills and using more power). On the way back when I had 2/3 of a tank, I stopped in the same town (Sayre) but at a different station and after I reset the computer and continued the trip back, I looked at the computer and even maintaining high highway speeds (around 65), I was getting 21.5mpg. There was no wind and the truck was loaded with camping gear. It seemed to run smoother also and didn't hesitate on startup like it sometimes does. I noticed the ethanol concentration (10%) is the same, so that can't be it. I was noticing similar results in NJ a few months ago when I went into the state to get cheaper gas, but I was getting 21-23mpg highway. Can anyone from NJ or PA clear this up and tell me why this is another reason why I want to move out of NY after college? Thanks.

 

ive noticed in washington state that if i fill up at a safeway or fred meyer gas station my mpgs go to crap, but if i use chevron and do the same driving the mpgs are way better. chevron, texaco and shell all have techron, which is very good for ur engine, where as safeway and fred meyer dont. idk y the mpgs are better but i do know that its been proven time and time again by me and friends. this may help u, idk.....just thought id share a similar story.

 

I wonder if it IS 10%. Remember the wording? If I recall I've seen some say 'at least' 10%. Could be they sneaking E15

 

IIRC it's up to 10% Ethanol but I have read of stations pushing the limit and sometimes going over but I don't have hard and fast facts to back that up.

As far as gas stations, Top Tier Gasoline

Turkey Hill Minit Markets used to be on the list but it looks like it was updated in November of 2011. Always thought it was curious that Sunoco Canada was on the list but Sunoco USA wasn't.

Not sure if you have already or not, but it would be worth it to figure out the best dollar per mile price for you between regular and mid grade. I found, over the course of 6 months of filling up with both (first half with regular and second half with plus) that it's cheaper to use mid grade. I get roughly 2-3 MPG more out of mid grade. So at an average of 14 gallons to fill up (for me), I get an average of 19 MPG. At today's price for mid grade by me, that's $55.86. Using regular and averaging 16 MPG, that's $54.46. $1.40 difference in price for the amount of fuel, BUT, I get 266 miles out of mid grade while I get 224 miles out of regular. So here's the dollar per mile price: Regular is 0.24/mile. Mid grade is 0.21/mile for a 0.03/mile difference. Sounds negligible, right? At the average of 12,000 miles/year that's a $360 savings AND you're getting better MPG! I did the same with premium and I got the same mileage as I did with mid grade so the price difference wasn't worth it. It would take 3600 fillups at a 0.10 difference between regular and mid grade for regular to better for me. I only fill up once every 1.5 weeks on average.

CLIFFNOTES: Take good data over a decent length of time for both regular and mid grade (and premium if you'd like) to see which is better for you.

 

Rather than trust your handy trip computer, figure it out the old fashioned way to be sure.

And the sticker reads, "May contain up to 10% ethanol".

 

Yes, all of my calculations were miles driven divided by gallons used to fill up.

Don't have one in the Blazer but the MPG display in both Regals was/is off by 1.5-2 MPG overall. In both instances it showed more generously than what the calculated numbers showed.

 

I may be talking out of my A$$ here since I live in the south, but I've heard that the futher north you live that they use a winter mix that contains more ethanol.... but like I said thats what I was told and not sure if its fact.

 

Same as oil, gasoline contains "brand specific" additives and folmulations thereof.

Speaking upon fact from family and friends working at the local (5 miles from my driveway to Gate #1) oil refinery, the 2 gas station chains in town are both owned by the refinery, and yet one has 3 grades of gas available at the pump, and the station I work at has 5, simply available as a metered mixture of the combination of the 2 grades of gas I have in the in-ground tanks of 87 octane, and 93 octane. Its what the companies pay for in formulation within federal guidelines to have a standardized octane rating and whatever else the brands want to advertise.

I have had my Jimmy for 2 months and 1 day as of today, and my mileage is all over the place, from 13mpg to 18mpg, BUT I pull a 6x10 foot trailer at least twice a week and have done nearly 200 miles in 4wd low range in that timeframe as well as about that much in 4wd high range.

I set myself a very broad baseline for mileage at an average just 16.283 mpg within my ownership, I am considering trying something else to see what I can muster out of it for mileage, whether it be a higher grade gasoline or an octane boost product.

 

A possibility( my two cents) NY has a higher population density(more concentration of businesses) which would require more fuel, meaning the fuel coming from the refineries isn't refined as much. You still get the same octane rating but there is just more crap in the gas (partially oxidized hydrocarbons/aromatic species) that's is why in some areas you actually get better MPG by using mid grade (though highly doubt premium), because people don't by mid grade as often meaning the fuel is purified longer.

As a side note , mid-grade is alright (i run it sometimes also) but higher octane ratings are actually harder to burn (high end cars run higher compression engines allowing them to burn the higher ratings) A blazer engine is not a Ferrari engine...even if we close our eyes and imagine it that way... meaning more fuel will be left unburned and can cause problems down the road if used all the time.

 

Higher octane fuel is slower burning, although more completely burned and a prerequisite of higher powered engines, ie: drag racing, high horsepower luxury, nas(ty)car, and the like.

Higher octane fuel is necessary to alleviate detonation (knock) and other fuel and ignition problem areas, and requires (with high enough octane ratings) more compression, and much higher ignition voltages to fully utilize, a "one-hand-washes-the-other" scenario you will waste the fuel in a low compression "stock" engine, and not burn the air-fuel charge as completely and as necessarily required for a high performance engine.

Similarly compared to using diesel fuel, and changing to kerosene, and then swapping to vegetable oil, in a diesel engine, they will all work effectively, but pure Kerosene will wash the cylinders too much and cause engine wear very quickly and it does not contain any formulations meant to be used in an engine fuel, on and off-road diesel fuels are also formulated differently and can be interchanged but the main differences in the formulations are aimed at on-road to reduce emissions. Fry oil will work very well, contains NO additives, and will pass emissions tests, at the cost of less efficiency.